Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Royalty Pharma PLC $RPRX

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Royalty Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:RPRX) by 5.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,191,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Royalty Pharma were worth $57,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RPRX. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 55,274,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,135,790,000 after acquiring an additional 11,110,115 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 31,104,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,201,870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,891,615 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Royalty Pharma by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,649,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $411,502,000 after acquiring an additional 376,888 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,719,843 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $297,465,000 after purchasing an additional 102,430 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royalty Pharma by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,106,905 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $197,331,000 after purchasing an additional 449,498 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.35% of the company’s stock.

Royalty Pharma Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ RPRX opened at $58.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a current ratio of 2.66. The firm has a market cap of $33.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.86. Royalty Pharma PLC has a one year low of $34.08 and a one year high of $59.44.

Royalty Pharma (NASDAQ:RPRX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $630.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.69 million. Royalty Pharma had a net margin of 33.88% and a return on equity of 29.25%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Royalty Pharma PLC will post 5.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royalty Pharma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Royalty Pharma’s payout ratio is 63.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RPRX has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Royalty Pharma from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Royalty Pharma from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Royalty Pharma from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Royalty Pharma from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $56.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Marshall Urist sold 9,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.88, for a total value of $508,452.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Terrance P. Coyne sold 64,399 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.98, for a total value of $3,476,258.02. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 427,800 shares of company stock worth $23,333,723 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 18.84% of the company’s stock.

About Royalty Pharma

Royalty Pharma plc is a specialty finance company that acquires biopharmaceutical royalty interests and provides non-dilutive financing to drug developers and rights holders. The firm purchases future royalty streams, milestone-contingent payments and other revenue rights linked to approved and late-stage pharmaceutical and biotechnology products. By paying upfront consideration for these rights, Royalty Pharma seeks to generate long-term cash flows tied to the commercial performance of a diversified portfolio of medicines.

The company’s transaction structures include outright royalty purchases, structured financings and milestone arrangements tailored to the needs of innovator companies, academic institutions and investors.